Neil Young has revealed that his attempts to attain U.S. citizenship prior to the 2020 presidential election has been delayed in part due to the “good morale character” clause on the immigration application.
“I want to be a dual citizen and vote. When I recently applied for American citizenship, I passed the test. It was a conversation where I was asked many questions. I answered them truthfully and passed,” the rocker wrote Friday on his Neil Young Archives’ site.
“Recently however, I have been told that I must do another test, due to my use of marijuana and how some people who smoke it have exhibited a problem.”
Young then cited an addition that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions made to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ “good morale character” by-laws that cautioned that applicants’ “certain marijuana related activities” could impact their attempts at citizenship.
“I sincerely hope I have exhibited good moral character and will be able to vote my conscience on Donald J. Trump and his fellow American candidates, (as yet un-named),” Young added.
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, the Canada-born Young — who has lived predominately in the United States since the late Sixties — said he hoped to take the oath of citizenship after his 74th birthday on November 12th.
“I pay taxes down here; my beautiful family is all down here — they’re all Americans, so I want to register my opinion,” Young told the Los Angeles Times, adding that in addition to voting on the presidency, “We’ve got a climate emergency, and governments are not acting.”